Case History: Khalid Mohd Ismath
On 29 October Khalid Mohd Ismath was released on bail.
On 13 October 2015, human rights defender Mr Khalid Mohd Ismath was charged with 14 alleged violations for posting 'offensive' comments on social media. He is being held in detention since 7 October 2015.
Khalid Mohd Ismath has organised several public forums focussing mainly on freedom of expression and religion. For several years he has been actively participating in social protests and using social media to highlight cases of human rights violations and the misuse of power by the enforcement authorities. In 2012, he was arrested several times as a result of his involvement with the Bersih 3.0 rally, which was calling for reforms within the electoral system in Malaysia in order to ensure free and fair elections.
On 13 October 2015, human rights defender Mr Khalid Mohd Ismath was charged with 14 alleged violations for posting 'offensive' comments on social media. He is being held in detention since 7 October 2015.
On 13 October 2015, the Johor Baru Sessions Court charged the human rights defender with 11 counts under the section 233 of the Communications and Multimedia Act 1998 and 3 counts under the Sedition Act 1948. All 14 charges relate to his comments on social media, which were considered 'offensive' towards the Johor Royal family. One of his allegedly 'offensive' comments refers to the practice of abuse of power by the police forces.
It was reported that prior to the Court session police officers tried to coerce his confession by offering Khalid Ismath a chance to speak to his family if he confessed to the alleged crimes. However, the human rights defender pleaded not guilty in all 14 charges. His application for bail was rejected due to alleged risk of Ismath's absconding.
The human rights defender has been held in detention since 7 October 2015. On 9 October 2015, at the end of his three-day remand period at the remand centre in Johor Bahru Selatan, his detention was extended under the Sedition Act (1948).
On 9 October 2015, human rights defender Mr Khalid Mohd Ismath was re-arrested following his three-day detention for posting allegedly 'offensive' comments on social media. He is currently being held at the remand centre in Johor Bahru Selatan.
On 9 October 2015, the human rights defender was re-arrested at the end of his three-day remand period at the remand centre in Johor Bahru Selatan. Following his original arrest on 7 October 2015, he was due to be released on 9 October. However, he was kept in detention under the Malaysian Sedition Act (1948). The detention order was issued on the request of police officers who accused him of insulting the Royal Family and the police force through allegedly 'offensive' comments on social media in which he had referred to the practice of abuse of power by the police forces.
He was accused of violating the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Act (1998). The police officers confiscated his mobile phone and computer. During his detention, colleagues posted messages of support from his Twitter account:
(Admin) Alhamdulillah masih tetap.bersemangat melawan. Stay strong! pic.twitter.com/Au62tNV7va
— khalid Ismath (@khalidismath) October 8, 2015
The human rights defender will remain in detention until 13 October 2015.
